Trump-Putin call lasts 1.5 hours, NBC reports

Editor's note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

U.S. President Donald Trump has completed a 1.5-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, NBC reported on March 18, citing an unnamed White House source.

The call follows U.S.-led negotiations in Saudi Arabia, where Washington proposed a 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Putin and Trump have not yet issued official statements after the phone call.

The call between the presidents began at 10 a.m. EDT and lasted "over an hour and a half," according to NBC.

Putin-Trump call went "very well," CNN reported, citing an unnamed Russian source with knowledge of the call. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino also said earlier the call was "going well."

"Under the leadership of President Putin and President Trump, the world has become a much safer place today!" Kirill Dmitriev, one of Russia's negotiators during talks with the U.S. in Saudi Arabia, wrote on X following the call.

Who is to gain more from a ceasefire — Russia or Ukraine?

U.S. President Donald Trump said on March 17 that he expects to hold a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal that Moscow has yet to agree to. Russia has declined to immediately accept the 30-day ceasefire proposal, with the

The Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov